Solace
by fightfortherightsofhouseelves
Summary: The one with the morning Ginny Potter decided she would change her career. Because compromises become bearable with the right one by your side, ready to nurse your wounds, hold your hand and love your every flaw. And a love such as this will always bring you solace.


It was your typical quiet Sunday morning and Ginny Potter found herself unable to sleep in, as she would usually do on the rare occasions when there was no practice with the Harpies planned, no tournament to steal her away from the calm of her home and all three children would be sleeping sound. A thought was bothering her for quite some time now, scratching at the back of her mind. It made her restless to say the least, but she couldn't really put her finger on it yet. However, two strong arms wrapping around her slender figure snapped her out of her reverie.

"Why aren't you asleep? It's only 8," her husband's husky voice sounded.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you up?" she asked, turning around to face him. He planted a small kiss on her lips in response. She made a face and gave a small pout.

"Now would you like to tell me what's wrong?" Harry asked, tucking a strand of ginger hair behind her ear.

"I've been thinking…," she said and paused. What exactly had she been thinking about was hard to describe, because there was only a vague image in her head. "It's more of a feeling, actually."

Harry nodded in encouragement. "Our children are growing up faster than I can keep up with," she finally found the words to express what had been bugging her for the past weeks.

"What?" Harry asked bemused.

"Lily said her first word two weeks ago and I wasn't there to witness it. And Al can brush his teeth all by himself now. When did he grow tall enough to manage to climb the little stool by the sink on his own and turn on the tap and brush his little baby teeth? And…and…," she was almost in tears by now, "and James, did you see what James drew?" Ginny cried, her large brown, terrified eyes searching for her husband's emerald green. His gaze always had a calming effect on her.

"Gin…," he whispered. "Come here," Harry tenderly said and took her into his arms. A sea of ginger laid on his chest, while her head found its favourite hiding place against the crook of his neck. He recalled the small drawing his eldest son had created a few days before. It figured James, his brother and sister in the middle and, somewhere in the far background, his mother flying and his father fighting another wizard. A wave of sadness hit him at the thought that his son felt that way. He had thought they were going alright, warts and all. Merlin only knew that both Ginny and him tried their best to be home for their children as often as possible, to have as many family evenings and outings as their rough schedules permitted. Being the Head of the Auror Department did not only mean spending a lot of time on the field, restlessly working cases until he solved them, but also hours and hours behind the desk, writing and reading reports. And there were also the trainings he had to provide for the new recruits, the weekly ones with the old recruits and monthly bootcamps. Ginny was a world famous Quidditch player by now and that required lengthy trainings in between matches, being away for tournaments and spending enough time with her team to keep the chemistry between players.

"I thought we knew what we were doing when we decided to have children so young…," Ginny whispered against his neck.

"Hey –" he caught her chin and raised it so she could look him in the eye –"do not ever doubt yourself. You are a wonderful mother, do you understand me?" he said. Before she could open her mouth to speak again, Harry shushed her and continued. "You give them long baths and play with them even though you just came back after hard weeks of training, you read them stories before they go to sleep and repeat the tale when they request it, even though you're not able to keep your eyes open much longer, you cook all their favourite meals before leaving for a tournament so they won't miss you too much. I've seen all that and I know how hard it is to keep a balance. You even find enough time to spend with your old husband," he chuckled. "You are amazing and I will not ever let you forget that. You are an incredible mother, Gin. Alright?" Harry said, gently caressing her cheek.

Ginny sighed and smiled half a smile. She knew she had given her all to raise her family, but she couldn't help but ponder on whether there would have been more to be done and she just missed on important opportunities. Sometimes it seemed plainly impossible to balance being a mother, a wife, a friend and having a career. There simply were not enough hours in a day. Or in a night, because there had been too many years since sleeping had been crossed out of her priorities list.

"I just want to stop missing out…," she softly said. "I want to be there for them, for all their first times, to hold them as they experience life and see them growing up. I'm always thinking what if something important happens and I'm not there to witness? Or what if they stop confiding in me? Or what if, I don't know, they will resent me for not being more present that they run away one day?" Ginny asked, feeling her eyes water again.

"Ginny, look at me," Harry whispered, but there was steel in his voice. She felt goosebumps pricking, as she always did when he was suddenly serious, determined, bringing out the full force of his will power. She marvelled at the man he had become, a man of incredible strength of character. "I understand what neglect looks like. I have lived through it day by day for 16 years and I can recognise it easily. This is how I can say without a doubt that there is no trace of neglect in our house, Gin, there isn't. And this is not just me saying it to ease our consciences, I swear it's not. It's true that sometimes our jobs take up most of our time, I can't deny that, but the love we return when we are all together, that's something irreplaceable. James, Al and Lily are fortunate to have you as a mother and there still isn't a day when I'm not struck by the thought of how incredibly lucky I am that you chose me out of all the blokes in the world," he said, planting feather-light kisses all over her forehead, descending to her cheeks, her jaw and, finally, her neck, cosseting every freckle he encountered along the way. Ginny let slip a small moan.

"You are beautiful –" he continued his trail of kisses down to her shoulder – "you are strong –" his lips were now on her chest, his hands tugging at the neck of her nightgown, lowering it as much as possible – "powerful" – on her breast – "the best flyer I have ever seen" – gently brushing against her nipple as she purred – "funny" – he gave it a small flick with his tongue and Ginny bit her lip – "undeniably sexy" – he switched his attention to her other breast –"loving, caring" – he took it all in his hand and finally added "and not to mention that you drive me crazy with how much you make me want you". His eyes betrayed a glint of mischievousness. She reckoned that he had more in store for her just by the way his upper lip slowly curled while his thumb glided over her other nipple. Ginny licked her lips and wondered how he could open up about his past like that, when she knew how much it hurt him to recall it, and then shut his feelings back down again just to take care of her. His touch was soothing and, little by little, it brought her solace, rendering her mother's heart a bit lighter. There was no way she could deny him anything when he suavely attacked her like that. She closed the gap between them and kissed him hard, pouring all her gratitude into it. She was positively sure that there would be no one else to understand her the way he did, to accept her as she was, to embrace her flaws and weaknesses and to make her feel loved, to make her feel wanted. Even after all those years of loving each other, their desire remained unchanged.

Her hands slipped inside his shirt, resting on his toned chest as they kissed, taking their time to explore each other. Harry's right hand moved from her breast and started lifting her night gown, resting on her hip. His left hand snaked around her shoulders, pulling her even closer. Ginny moaned against his lips as she felt an experienced hand brushing slightly against her sweet spot. It was impossible how he could always make her feel like the half frightened but determined teenage girl who undressed in front of him for the first time, let him run his blistered palms along her bruised skin for the first time.

"Should we…?" he asked against her neck before spreading more open mouthed kisses on her already sensitive skin. She quirked an eyebrow in response and reached at the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Taking it as a cue to not hold back anymore, Harry tightened his grip around her shoulders and slipped his hand inside her knickers. She opened her mouth with the pleasure of it as his fingers found the spot she liked so much and started drawing slow circular patterns around it. Ginny relaxed against her husband's muscled arm, enjoying herself thoroughly. Little meowing sounds escaped her lips and she felt her toes curl in pleasure. She closed her eyes feeling him slip yet another finger and lightly thrusting in and out, in and out. "Ah" was all she could express, her mind all fuzzy and her fingers flying of their own accord to remove his bottoms. His mouth closed yet again on one of her nipples and she felt unbearably close. She heard a please, Harry followed by an I need you hoarsely moaned and she almost did not recognize her own voice for the lust and hunger and begging it carried.

As quickly as he could, he obliged his wife's wishes. Standing sprawled against the white bed sheets, a curtain of red hair catching the morning light, her eyes half closed and her mouth sensually opened in a cry of satisfaction, Harry thought he had never seen her quite as mesmerizing before.

"See something that you like?" she asked cheekily. Getting a hold of himself, Harry crawled on top of her and leaned forth until his lips were almost on hers.

"You have no idea what you do to me, Gin," he breathed. "No idea at all," he added, lightly biting her bottom lip.

Feeling she was ready for him, he guided himself into her heated center and released a guttural sound at the sweet release the sensation brought. Steadily building a rhythm, they abandoned themselves in each other's arms. It had always been their best source of comfort, the closest place to home they could ever find. They carried each other towards their heights and took the fall together, clutching their arms more tightly in one passionate embrace, fighting to kiss every little portion of skin they could reach. Their love making had always been like that, heated, dazzling, head spinning, a burst of barely controllable emotion. The end was bliss, both raggedly breathing to regain composure.

Harry lowered his forehead onto hers and shut his eyes. His heart was beating so fast from the love he felt it was maddening. "You know I meant every word I said earlier, yeah?"

"I know, love", Ginny answered, gingerly stroking her fingers through the wild hair at the back of his head. It always stood out and she never once dreamed of taming it.

"Okay. Because I really mean it," he continued, opening his eyes to look at her. "James, Al, Lily and I, we are all so lucky to have you. I reckon we'd all be lost without you."

She laughed her first honest, light hearted laugh of the day. Grabbing his hand, she touched his callused knuckles with her lips. All was going to be fine.

The next day, Ginny sought Gwenog Jones to announce that she was resigning her position as Chaser for the all women Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies. She knew that nothing could replace the last decade spent on the team and she cherished every last second of it, from the long practice sessions that ended at sunrise to the heartbreaking loses or the wonderfully thrilling moments where she brought her team to victory with the throw of a Quaffle. It was the end of an era, but she felt no regrets. If she did not do it now, she was afraid she would never again muster the courage to step back and, Merlin forbid, before she could realize it or understand where the years went flying, James would be boarding the Hogwarts Express. And Al and Lily right after him. No, she would not accept that, she would not.

Turning her back on the Quidditch pitch loaded with millions upon millions of memories, Ginny Potter squeezed her eyelids shut and steadied herself. A single tear streamed down her freckled cheek before she turned on the spot and Disapparated from Holyhead for the last time.


End file.
